Yesterday we brought you some killer early 1970s training films from the California Highway Patrol. Today it is another training film on police high speed driving circa the 1970s but this was was made by Motorola and features huge 1970s Polaras doing all sorts of awesome stuff like chasing Mustangs and ‘Cudas with the bonus being the narration by Dragnet star Jack Webb. Our tipstress Elana sent both of these but they were actually dug up by her man-friend Tom. (Tom is a keeper!)
This is a professionally shot and produced video so the camera work is top shelf and there is none of the hurky-jerky quality of the 8mm converted movie we showed you yesterday. This one has more high speed action and shows just how hard the coppers back then were working the wheel during cornering exercises and on the street. It makes us want to build a Pro Touring Polara (has someone done that already?).
Watching one of these cars take a 90-degree corner at 50mph is pretty exciting so we can only imagine what it was like for the guy driving the car. It really is a wonder they caught anyone back then, but as Webb says during the film, pursuits are more about keeping close and waiting for the other guy to screw up, not racing him.
This is another awesome find and really entertained us!
Thanks Elana and Tom!
This is absolutly worth the time it takes to watch. Although my ‘coemntary driving’ is usually me commenting on my own mistakes. What a gem, thank you for sharing.
FLASHBACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was a “rookie uniform” in 1971. My first marked car was a 1971 Plymouth Fury II 4 dr. (post) with a 440 (375 hp) torqueflite and all the “cop car” suspension, cooling, and interior. THAT SOB WOULD FLY…………I was assigned the beat/sector that included a 12 mile stretch of interstate highway. Here’s a 21 year old rookie, drag racer at heart, with a factory hot rod……..whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t count the number of times I buried the speedo responding to an “officer in need of aid” or a 10-50 J unknown (cop talk for an accident, unknown situation as far as injuries, road blockage, number of vehicles involved).
Like giving John Dillenger a loaded gun and telling him to stay away from the local bank.
I eventually progressed to a position as a driver training instructor, starting out with these same factory hot rods, eventually transitioning to the 9C1 Novas and Caprices. NOTHING could compare or come close to the Mopars.
In 35+ years of service, absolutely nothing compared to the Mopars of 1970-1972 vintage. A close second was the 429 Galaxy, (1970-71) but their cooling was marginal at best, and the interior servicibility/comfort was horrible.
Thanks for helping an old dog relieve a past life……..